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A view of Dubai downtown

At 4 p.m., the temperature can get as high as 36 degrees centigrade and the humidity level can reach 80%. Winter is nearing, which means that many people will go out and enjoy the last few weeks of warm weather in this melting pot of cultures and religions.

Dubai, a city of around 2 million, is the largest city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The global metropolis is often called the commercial capital of the Middle East for its free and diversified economy. The world-class city's population consists of 180 different nationalities. The local Emirati population accounts for only 8 percent of the city's residents. Iraqis, including a growing number of Kurds, are present in large numbers in the city and the rest of the UAE.

"Hey, Lana. What time are we going to the hair-salon? Did you forget that we're clubbing tonight at Kasbar?" Naz asks her best friend, Lana, in broken Kurdish. The two girls, both wearing beachwear, are discussing their late-night plans while tanning at Dubai's famous Jumeirah Beach.

Naz Abdullah is a 23-year-old American-Kurdish fashion designer. She's originally from Sulaimaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan, but, as she describes, she feels more like an American than an Iraqi Kurd. She has been living in Dubai with her family for four years and enjoys the city more than anywhere else on the planet. "Life couldn't be better here in Dubai. I love this city more than Orange County," she says in a perfect Californian accent as she describes the affluent San Diego, California, suburb. "Dubai has more to offer than the United States. Here everything is available. We can ski on an indoor slope and go to the beach just two minutes away." Her blond mother, Mariam Saleh, 45, a plastic-surgeon in the city, says: "It's a secular city; we can drink alcohol and wear anything we want, just like Europe or the U.S."

"The Dubai government is very cooperative with expatriates and foreign companies. It's a tax-free country with minimum interference from local authorities," says Naz's father, Abdullah, describing the free economy of the city. Dubai, especially after 2003, has witnessed a surge in Kurdish businesses. According to one Kurdish businessman working in the city since 2003, Dubai has around 600 companies and offices of Iraqi Kurdish businesses. "Dubai has become a business hub between East and West. Many Kurdish businessmen import their items from or through Dubai to Iraq and Kurdistan," Khaled Barzinji, a businessman based in Erbil and Dubai, adds.

"Everyone from the Kurdish community in the UAE thanks its president, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nhayan, and the Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Al-Maktoum. They've been very supportive of our community. It's an Arab country, but still we can say proudly that we're Kurds. We can even celebrate Newroz here officially," says Barzinji.

The Kurdish community in Dubai, increasing in numbers since 2003, regularly holds festivals in the city. "Each year we celebrate the Kurdish New Year, Newroz, in Dubai," mentions Abdullah Sulaiman, 32, a Kurd in the real-estate business. "Most of the Kurdish community gathers in one of the many five-star hotels for the annual occasion," Sulaiman adds. He says that occasionally, Kurdistan TV (the main TV network based in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan), covers the Newroz celebrations in the United Arab Emirates.

On a regular basis, Kurds in the city also meet at one of the many Kurdish restaurants dotting Dubai's central business area. One of these, Hawler Restaurant (Kurdish for Erbil), is packed every day with Kurds and foreigners enjoying themselves with Kurdish cuisine. "I come here every night to dine with my friends or family. Their food reminds me of the delicious things we eat in Kurdistan," says Sulaf Rashid, a young Kurdish-Swiss university student. "I love Kurdish food?the food is very tasty," says her friend, Gina Williams, a British expatriate.

Naz and Lana, the two fashionable Kurdish girls, meet up around 11 p.m. at the posh Kasbar Discotheque at the Royal Mirage Hotel in one of Dubai's elite neighborhoods.

"Love your new dress, girl," says Naz to Lana in Arabic. The two girls are joined by their Emirati and foreign friends at the club. "Kurds are lovely people. My wish is to visit Kurdistan this coming summer," says their Emirati friend, Hazaa Al-Suwaidi, as he drinks his glass of red wine. According to him, the way his Kurdish friends are describing their country makes him think about planning a summer trip to Iraq's Kurdistan Region.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is heavily investing in the region's infrastructure and improving the life standard of its people. Erbil, the capital of the region, is witnessing many Dubai-style projects like huge shopping malls, five-star hotels, sports facilities and a booming real-estate sector. Just like Dubai, the city attracts massive foreign investments and an increasing number of expatriates from all around the world. On many occasions, Kurdish officials, including President Massoud Barzani, have said that Kurdistan will follow the Dubai model of development.

The girls as of now are not planning to go back to Kurdistan. But the time will be sooner than rather later to go back to their country, they say. In their opinion, the Kurdish government is doing its best to improve the region's infrastructure and people's life standard and bring it to the Dubai standard as they promise. "The KRG is promoting Erbil as the second Dubai, with all the projects and investments going on right now. If Erbil will continue this way, I will definitely go back to Kurdistan," says Lana. "I will come with you?if you girls don't mind," screams Lamita Antoinne, their Lebanese friend.